The "A Real Class Act" Story

It was an ordinary day. Trying to remember all the events that took place last evening when we traveled to the M&T Bank Park in Baltimore for the Finals of the Maryland 4A High School Football Championships. My son-in-law, Dave Mencarini (Coach Mac), is the head coach of Quince Orchard (QO) High School which is a large high school in Montgomery County, MD. He won his first state title in 2007 and was trying for a second with a team that went 13-0 up until last night. Carol and I left Lancaster about 2:30 PM and arrived at Inner Harbor about 4:00 PM for the 7:30 PM game. Walked the Inner Harbor docks for about an hour doing some sightseeing and then met our daughter Brynn and our granddaughters for supper at Cheesecake Factory. Arrived at the stadium a half-hour before game time. Place was packed with Quince Orchard fans and fans from Old Mill High School which is located in Anne Arundel County, MD. They too were 13-0 until last night. The night air had a chill to it, but that would soon forgotten with the cheering and screaming for tonight I witnessed one of the best high school football games I have ever seen. Extremely talented players, superior coaches and great fans from both teams made for a classic game. QO scored early and often before Old Mill was able to get on the scoreboard. Halftime score was 21-7, QO. Old Mill has a player, Rob Chesson that had scored a state record 49 touchdowns this season and I fully expected him to dominate when they were on offense, but Dave had his defense geared toward stopping him and the Old Mill ground game and he was held without a touchdown all night! Second half opened with Old Mill kicking off and the the QO receiver fumbled the ball as he was being tackled and Old Mill scooped up the fumble and ran it in for a score. 21-14, QO. Dave's Cougars managed another score in the 3rd quarter to go up 28-14, but Old Mill came back and scored one more time before the end of the 3rd quarter. With time running out in the game, Old Mill scored once again on a 70-yard pass with just 42 seconds left and tied the game. Old Mill's prolific rushing game forced QO to use most of the defensive players to try to stop the rush and Old Mill took advantage of that in their final drive. 28-28, OVERTIME!! In Maryland, if a high school game ends up tied after regulation play, each team gets 4 downs to try to score from the 10 yard-line. If a tie continues after the 1st overtime, they go at it again. Dave's team had the ball on offense and scored a touchdown and extra point. 35-28 QO. Old Mill also scored, but after lining up for the extra point kick, called time out. When they returned to the field they lined up in regular formation to try for 2 points. Gutsy call on the part of the coach. This was it, win or lose. Chesson, their best player was given the ball and he ran off left tackle for the 2 points. 36-35 Old Mill in OT! The Old Mill fans and players erupted in screams and excitement while QO fans watched in utter silence as the QO players walked back towards the sideline in disbelief, some with their heads down. It is really too bad that games can't end up tied, but there is only 1 first place trophy. Eventually they lined up and passed each other on the field, exchanging handshakes and pats-on-the-back. One team with smiles on their faces while the other had tears in their eyes. The QO team gathered in the end zone as their coach, my son-in-law, talked to them. I'm sure he had words of encouragement for the great season and fantastic game they played. Hey, they were 13-1! After they broke from the gathering, Dave ran over to the stands, waved in all directions and mouthed "Thank You" to everyone who still remained in the stands. Dave appreciates the support and following his team gets and the fans love him. QO's best running back, Mark Green, finished with 42 carries for 216 yards and 3 touchdowns. A great game by any standard. He responded to a reporter from the Washington Post with "That was a good play by a good running back," he said while pointing towards Chesson. "But we're still going to celebrate. We're not going to let one game define us. I feel like we should have come out with a win, but Old Mill is a really good team." Pure CLASS! And he defines the entire Quince Orchard team, players and coaches. If I were a parent and had a son playing football, I would want them to play for a team and coach like that. They are a real class act!! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - I had so many photos to share that I have put them at the end of the story.

Photo taken at Inner Harbor in from of the World Trade Center, Baltimore. Sculpture reads "Together We Remember The People Of Maryland Who Perished On 9•11•2011". First two photos were taken as we awaited the start of the game.

Ship "Chesapeake" in front of the National Aquarium in Baltimore's Inner Harbor.

Outside entrance into Baltimore's M&T Bank Stadium, home of the Baltimore Ravens.

15 minutes before the game, the Quince Orchard cheering section "The Red Army" is ready to go.

Cheerleaders holding their sign up for the players to run through.

The Next three photos were taken from my seat on about the 15 yard line. No. 6 for Quince Orchard is running back Mark Green.

Photo taken by Washington Post photographer of Dave in the midst of his team after the game